Bottle-stopper



(Mm H. B. STEWART.

' BOTTLE'STOPPER.

No. 428,425. Patented May 20, 1890.

m: mums ruins co., muro-urnnw. wuumafou, n. t.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

HARRY B. STEWART, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,425, dated May 20, 1890. Application filed November 26, 1889- Serial No. 331,694. (Modeh) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY B. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at. St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to stoppers for bottles to take the place of the ordinary cork and to be used with bottles after the bottle has been opened and the cork removed.

The object of-the invention is to afford a ready means for opening and closing the mouth of a bottle after the cork has been once removed.

I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form of my invention, in which drawings Figure l is a perspective of abottle-stopper made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a side View of the same, showing the bottlestopper applied to the neck of a bottle and the cover closed; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section 011 the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, showing the cover open.

5 is a ring or tube of metal from which depend, preferably, four arms 6 at equidistance from each other. The ring 5 and arms 6 are made of spring metal, so that when the same is applied to the neck of a bottle the elasticity of the arms 6 will hold the stopper to the bottle by means of frictional contact. Between the ring 5 and the neck of the bottle may be placed a ring '7, of cork or other suitable material, which makes a close joint with the bottle and comes about flush with the top of the metal ring 5, which is slightly above the mouth of the bottle when applied to the same, so that when the cover is closed a tight joint will be made. Another reason for using a ring of cork or other material is to make the stopper fit bottles of different sizes. To the ring 5, I attach the cover 8 by a hinged joint 9, or in any other way. The cover 8 may be provided with a projecting piece 10, by which it can be readily manipulated. Said cover is preferably so made as not to project over the metal ring 5, but to come about even therewith. In order to hold the cover in its open and closed position, I provide a flat spring 11, which is attached to the ring 5 at one end and has the free end thereof bearing upon an extension 12 from the cover at or near the hinged joint 9. I do not wish to confine myself to a fiat spring for this purpose, as other springs may be employed to answer this purpose.

This device is more especially adapted for the use of bar-keepers, and is designed to obviate the objection of having to remove the cork and put it to one side each time a portion of the contentsis poured from the bottle. It affords a ready means for this purpose, is easily applied to the bottle, and the lid when closed forms a tight cover for the mouth of the bottle The spring 11 is made of such tension that by pressing the thumb against the extension 10 the cover can be readily raised, and by manipulating with the forefinger the cover when open can readily be closed. Thus the bottle can be held in one hand and opened and closed by that hand,

leaving the other hand free to handle the glass or receptacle into which the contents of the bottle is to be poured; whereas when an ordinary cork is employed, the bottle must be held in one hand and the cork removed by the other hand, and the cork when so removed is often mislaid and liable to get lost, while in my invention it is not necessary to remove the device from a bottle until the bottle is empty and the device is to be applied to another bottle. Said device may be nickelplated, and when gotten up in proper form is an ornament to a bottle and can be applied to and removed from a bottle with the greatest facility.

lVhat I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States as myinvention is I 1. The combination, to form a bottle-stopper, of a ring having one or more springarms extending therefrom and adapted to be applied to the neck of a bottle, a hinged cover carried by said ring and resting against the same when closed, and a flat spring bearing against the rear end of said hinged cover, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, to form a bottle-stopper, of a member having one or more spring ed to grasp the neck of a bottle, a ring 7, of cork orother suitable material, interposed between said ring and the neck of the bottle, a hinged cover 8, carried by the ring for closing and opening the mouth of the bottle, and a flat spring 11, attached to said ring, bearing against the rear end of the hinged cover, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this 236. day of November, 1889, in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY HSTEWYAR-T. [L. s] \Vitnesses:

A. O. FOWLER, M. S. REEDER. 

